Day 13 - Saturday 8 January

This morning we awoke to seeing snow falling outside our windows - only light but it was so exciting! After breakfast we headed off to visit the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a College with over 35,000 students which was founded in 1792, only 4 years after Australia was first settled. We drove around a little to view parts of the college (and because we got lost!) before we ended up at the Dean E Smith Center - the home of the Tar Heels basketball team. Just as we arrived it started to snow - and we all really enjoyed the experience of walking around whilst it fell upon us. Not a lot of snow fell, but it was enough to make it very exciting! The basketball museum was fascinating - just reading and looking at the wonderful collection of memorabilia was fascinating. For those who don't know, this was the University that Michael Jordan attended, and there was great interest to see his display. From there were headed to the North Carolina Student shop - many people bought lots of clothing and other items here, especially as the NC symbol is the same as ours!
We left there at 1pm and headed for the RBC Center to watch the NCAA game North Carolina State v Wake Forest. During the drive we drove through another quite heavy snowfall - whilst none has yet collected on the ground it has been fabulous to see it. Predictions are that by Monday it will get heavier.
The basketball center was huge - and so much fun! The $5 tshirts were popular and made many feel a real part of the red and white crowd. NC State ran away with an easy win. From there we visited the biggest shopping mall in town - Crabtree Valley, and many bought some clothing and those special shoes they had been planning for. Last stop was another Golden Corral buffet restaurant - all you can eat and drink for around $12 a person. We were even given our own room! We enjoyed this so much that we have booked in for tomorrow.
It was such a pleasant change to be back at the hotel by 9pm - hopefully the boys will get a chance to get some much needed sleep tonight.

Special Blog Post - Basketball on tour

Now that our games are over I thought it timely to talk about how important the role of these games was. During the course of the tour each team played 6 games - and every school experience was completely different.
Our first games in Connecticut v Norwich Free Academy were a real eye opener to all - the whole experience of being in a school for the first time was very exciting and the boys revelled in their new found importance. Norwich is a large school, well known for its strong academic program and is set in a beautiful part of this country. Newspaper interviews, cheer girls, half time entertainment, the differences in rules between their games and ours back home and the fact that people were being charged for entrance just name a few! Whilst we did not hold our own on the court that day due to the intense tiredness of all from our travel we did really enjoy the chance to play in a beautiful school.
Our second set of games was a few days later, back in Connecticut against Nathan Hale Ray School, a lovely small school in a picturesque area. Just having a chance to have the boys practice together first gave us more of an edge, and that each of the older boys had been billeted before the games meant there was more at stake (in their minds at least!). Another big crowd turned up to watch and the atmosphere was fantastic - very different from our first school (less upbeat) - and we played much better and those guys with limited experience playing found it much easier. Our Freshmen drew, our JV side just lost by a point and our Varsity boys held their own for most of the game but struggled at the end to their second loss.
Our Junior Varsity and Varsity guys had their third games in yet another very different style of school, an inner city gym in the basement of the Hunter College High School in central Manhattan, New York. The JV side played really well and took out a strong win, whilst the Varsity side really struggled to play well together early in the game, hitting their straps after half time and just fell short.
Game 3 for our Freshman was against Sidwell Friends - a very wealthy school in Washington DC and the school which Barack Obama's daughters attend. Our boys again played with incredible passion, but fell just short of the win.
Game 4 for all was in Virginia - the Freshman side played Monticello High whilst the JV and Varsity side played Robert E Lee High. By this time we were struggling to believe how you could play in four places which were so different from each other. Our JV boys were fantastic in this game, playing with huge passion and taking out an easy win. The Varsity side played really well in parts, but not well in others, and struggled to gain any sort of foothold - going down easily.
Game 5 was our first in North Carolina in yet again another quite different style of school. This was a Christian School in a little town about an hour out of Raleigh, and the whole group were African American. Trinity were so very athletic, able to jump, play great D and very well disciplined. Our Freshmen just lost, our JV were soundly beaten but this was the best game on tour from our Varsity boys. But for a few minutes where the opposition could not miss from outside the three point line we might have got up, but missed out on the win.
Our last set of games was yet another very different experience as it was at Wake Crossroads Baptist Church, a base for boys who were being home schooled. Each of our teams won, the JV and Varsity teams easily and the Freshmen just getting up.
So all in all the doors that these basketball games opened were fantastic - our three billet experiences were fabulous and enjoyed by all and the friendship and fellowship shown by all our American hosts was something to be believed - so many of us have made friends for life.

Day 12 - Friday 7 January

Another wonderful day in paradise!!

Today saw the start of the self-drive vans - which meant a little preparation was necessary including a practice spin around the car park for some of our drivers! We let the boys stay in bed until 8.45, and aimed to get the group organised by 9.45, getting away not long after, and we headed for Duke University. Our first view of the Uni was the Chapel - a most imposing piece of architecture - and then we headed toward the visitors car park so that we could have a closer look around.
We were privileged to be able to walk into the Chapel and were in awe of the huge interior, magnificent pipe organ and beautiful stained glass windows. From there we walked along a pathway through the arches, past some of the student accommodation toward the student recreation center. One of the friendly staff let us in to look around at the three storey facility which included basketball courts, pools and a great gym. She then took us all through the original basketball stadium into Cameron Indoor Stadium, the home of Duke Basketball. The Duke men were holding a closed practice session but many of us got a sneek peak through the edge of the curtain! We enjoyed looking at the excellent sporting museum and headed over to the student center where many did some damage to their bank accounts in the Duke clothing store. Duke is only a small uni of 6000 undergraduates and about the same number of gradulates studying - they all pay around $50,000 a year for this privilege. 30,000 applications were received for the 1,700 places in the next academic year!
From there we drove to Best Buy, a huge electronics shop, where many purchased cameras, laptops and headphones just to name a few items, and also visited a huge sporting store named Dick's. After this quick shopping stop it was off on a short drive (made just a little longer when Richard missed two turns off the freeway meaning we double backed twice) to Wake Crossroads Baptist Church for our last games of the tour against the Raleigh Hawks.
The Freshman played first, and got off to a strong start before the Hawks adjusted and worked their way back. It was fantastic to watch some of our 'rookies' like Nick Duncan, Ryan Williams and Josh Kieser play really well, and combine with the strong play of Seamus O'Sullivan, Jordan Swepson and Nelson Larkins. The inside presence of Michael Cosh really helped with rebounds as well. Final score was 41 - 37 - a great way for the young men to finish their play on the tour.
The Junior Varsity side matched up well against the Hawks and, at times, showed their strength in defence and offensive skills. It was great to see Nelson Larkins able to step up and play at this level - he showed great poise on the court. Alexa Boardman struggled with some questionable refereeing calls, as did Reid. Micheal Moore continued his excellent play on tour, top scoring with 27, and Matt VonWilpert enjoyed his best game in the US. We ran out winners 68 to 56 after being up be over 20 at times.
The Varsity side were primed, looking for their first win, but struggled to turn this thought into good defence on the court early. A quick time out after only 4 minutes to remind the boys why defence wins games (I love the rule where you can call a time out whenever you have the ball) meant we turned things around and took a slim lead into quarter time. The second quarter belonged to us, and we began to play disciplined offence as well as strong man-to-man defence. However, it was a zone press which made the difference and took away any chance from the opposition - us running away winners 74 to 36. Great rebounding and running of the floor came from Brett Cronan, excellent steals from Dan Affleck and it was great to see both Micheal Moore and Alex Boardman step up to this level and play so well.
Our hosts provided us with a pizza dinner following the game and we mixed with their community for nearly and hour, before heading back to the hotel at around 11pm.

Day 11 - Thursday 6 January

It was hard work dragging ourselves out of bed this morning - another very short night! For those of us in the hotel we had a quick breakfast and boarded the bus to head back to Robert E Lee High School to pick up the boys who had been billeted.
We headed off by 8.30 in the direction of North Carolina, nearly 5 hours away. The boys were happy to talk about the great overnight experience they had, and shared the fun of their last night of billeting whilst on tour. Thankfully we were able to put on a couple of movies to while away the time - Wall Street and Salt! One highlight of the trip was the Golden Corral Buffet we stopped at for lunch - all you can eat and drink for $10! The salad bar, the hot meat and seafood, and the amazing dessert bar were unbelievable.
We arrived at our Hampton Inn in Raleigh at around 3.30pm, and quickly unpacked the bus and moved into our rooms, before we headed off to Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville - about and hour and a half drive. We arrived a little late and the Freshmen played first after a shortened warmup. The game was close throughout, continuing in the same vein as yesterday's, with excellent team play shown by Nelson Larkins, a fantastic rookie effort from James Mann and Nick Duncan shot a game equaling basket, was fouled and hit the extra. Final score was 37 - 40.
The Junior Varsity boys started slowly, not something we are accustomed to. They warmed up as the game progressed, and showed their usual strong defensive play and excellent drives to the basket. Alex 'Dino' Boardman continued his positive intimidating efforts, grabbing many huge rebounds and scoring from under the basket, and Micheal 'Spanky' Moore once again showed his class and leadership on the court. Jack LeRossignol played great D and kept the opposition guessing. We ended up losing 40 - 64.
Watching the Home Varsity team warming up was frightening - most players were taller than Pat Moore and with amazing athletic jumping ability. The two coaches (Lachlan and Richard) were thinking about a massacre occuring, but our boys had other plans. Our zone defence seemed to stifle the Trinity players and allowed our boys to run and score - at many times during the first half we were in the lead, up 19-18 at the quarter time break, and the half time score was 31 - 34. Sadly one of the Trinity boys started to hit his outside shots and they pulled ahead, but our boys continued with their energetic running style and kept the game close and interesting throughout. Final score was 55 - 73, but this did not reflect how well we played - possibly the best Nudgee Firsts game in the last two years. Standout efforts came from Jake and Tom Dunsmore, Pat Moore, Mullie Watson and Aidan Ptasznik, but truly all played really well.
A late night pizza delivery for dinner (12.15am!) with the promise of a later start in the morning ended the day.

Day 10 - Wednesday 5 Jan

The day was a late start for all - you never should underestimate the power of sleeping until 7am!
After we checked out of the hotel at 10am we headed for Arlington Memorial Cemetery and took the guided bus tour to see John F Kennedy's grave and the eternal flame, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the incredible changing of the guards ceremony and the historic home of George Washington's adopted son. The sense of dignity and deep respect over the whole place, the understanding of the Civil War and the role Robert E Lee played was one memory that will stay with me forever.
A quick trip around Georgetown and the university (including a photo shot for the Georgetown family) saw us leaving Washington DC, heading out into country Virginia. A quick stop at Burger King (or as quick as one shop can feed 50 people) satisfied the hungry hordes and we settled in for a good 3 hour drive.
The Freshman team was playing at one school in Monticello, whilst the Junior and Senior Varsity teams played at Robert E Lee High School in Staunton - the two schools a 40 minute drive apart. We dropped the Freshmen off early and they enjoyed the chance to watch the Monticello Varsity team train and walk through the gym whilst the cheerleaders were practicing. The game was a see-sawing affair, with the lead changing several times in the first quarter. Michael Cosh had 8 blocks before half time and was ably assisted by Seamus O'Sullivan who led the team with 16 points. Final score for the game was 39 - 35 - it was great to see Keneen Cole-Zaro's athletic prowess and Ryan Williams' enthusiasm all over the court.
The welcome at Robert E Lee High School was so warm and inviting, even though we were running a little late. Our Junior Varsity team warmed up well and started with huge energy - Micheal Moore played possibly the best game I have ever seen him play and Reid Foran was also outstanding at the point. Awesome contributions off the bench came from Christian Albiez and Samson Page. Our defence as a team, and individually, was just too much for our opposition and we ran away with a strong win 66 to 37.
Our Varsity team then warmed up, but started slowly, and in almost no time we were down 12 to 4, but the exciting thing to watch was that our defence was very strong. Early in the second quarter we called a time out and strong words were spoken - we needed to take more disciplined shots, run more offence and work harder to receive the ball. The good news is that this worked!! We slowly started to peg back the opposition, and went into the half only 11 points down after the split being up to 17 points. We started the second half much more committed, and played some of the best defence I've seen at Nudgee, at one stage gaining a steal after 90 seconds of defence (no shot clocks over here!). We worked hard at pegging them back, getting within 4 at one stage of the quarter. However, this was not to continue, and the eventual result worked out 35 to 66. Great contributions off the bench from Curtis Rudd and Cambell Taylor ably assisted Jake Dunsmore and Pat Moore.
The boys were off to billets for the night - it is interesting to note that a number of the girls here asked for specific players - after a pizza gathering in the school cafeteria. One special point to note is that the Robert E Lee coach Paul Hatcher is now in his 43rd season, with over 850 wins on his record, and his son is his assistant coach - sounds familiar, hey! We played in a wonderful gym with a seating capacity of 1600 - and the crowd would have been around 1000 who all paid $5 to get in!!
The staff and families headed back to dinner and our hotel - another short night as we have a big day on the road ahead tomorrow.

Day 9 - Tuesday 4 January

Another awesome day - it is so hard to believe that we have only been away for 9 days!
We headed off at 8.30am all dressed up - full Nudgee uniforms for the boys, including both Ipswich and Brisbane Grammar representatives and our two Clayfield College girls and suits and formal wear for the adults, ready for our White House Tour. After a visit to the Visitors Center we crossed Pennsylvania Avenue and went through the security checkpoint to then go through another security checkpoint to enter the East Wing of the White House itself. It was fantastic to be able to wander through the building, talk to the Secret Service officers in each room and ask questions about what we were seeing, the purpose of the rooms and where things were. The President's bedroom was directly above us at one stage and at another time one of the officers teased Karen and Lynne about an invitation to go up the stairs, only to hear that he would lose her job it if did happen. The souvenir store outside was fabulous, then we gathered as a group on the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue for a fantastic set of photos - a full group and many individual and small group pictures - all with the White House as the backdrop.
Next stop for the bus was the Capital Building, where we all got off and had a fabulous photo taken on the steps. We enjoyed looking at where Martin Luther King made his famous 'I have a dream' speech, and where President Obama was inaugurated - completely blown away at the space that was filled with people when this occurred. Back on the bus we travelled past the many Smithsonian Museums to the Washington Monument which we looked up to in awe. We all then strolled up The Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial, visiting the National World War II Memorial along the way. The boys were in awe at the marvel and size of Abraham Lincoln within that incredible memorial building.
By 3.30pm we headed for Sidwell Friends School for our Freshman game and we were welcomed to their new $40 million gym which included a football field and running track on the top floor, two basketball courts, a wrestling gym and dance studio inside!! Wow!! Sidwell Friends is the school to which President Obama sends his daughters, and the school Chelsea Clinton attended.
It was a fantastic game, incredibly competitive and our boys played with great passion. Unfortunately it appeared to us that the referee was certainly helping the home team, and many of the calls seemed to go their way every time - even the Sidwell parents agreed with us. Final score for the game was 39 - 42, an incredible effort with our two best players fouled early in the fourth corner.
Our bus trip back to the hotel was through very heavy traffic - it took nearly an hour to get onto the freeway heading back toward Virginia. However, we stopped off at a local restaurant for dinner - a chance for us to all have something not 'fast food' and sit down using real cutlery and crockery. The whole group were thrilled with the meal and the atmosphere - satisfying to have a chance to be grown up!
Back to the hotel before 9pm, and with a later start for the morning, it was one of the most amazing days on tour so far.

Day 8 - Monday 3 January

Would you believe I am sitting on our bus travelling at 75mph down the New Jersey Turnpike heading for Washington DC - still nearly 4 hours away (present time is 9.48pm). The luxury of free wifi on our bus, provided by the awesome Mike the driver, is something I had no idea was even possible.
The day started bright and early with us waking the boys in the hotel and getting them ready for school - yes, you read it right - the had their full winter uniform on and looked fantastic (thanks to Kenny Georgetown for ironing their shirts). We headed off to Nathan Hale Ray High School in time for the boys to attend first class - at 7.30am! Those who had been with their billets got in to school on time as well - some even had the fun of travelling on one of those yellow school buses. The staff and families got a great sleep in and a chance to re-pack their bags (and I had chance to upload some more photos to Flickr).
First class ended at 10.30 and the group gathered in the school auditorium to be greeted by the Principal and then headed in to the cafeteria for lunch - burgers, nuggets, mashed potato and an option on a green salad! Our host students, and a great number of the girls in the school, seemed to have the freedom to be out of class and spent time with us - much to our boys enjoyment!! Stories of the morning circulated, including Mullie Watson reporting the news of the day on the TVs in the clasrooms, followed by the sport report by Seamus O'Sullivan and the weather by Tyrone Turaga. Interesting to note that the boys who stayed up near the school had seen light snow fall during the evening - quite a hit! Most of the boys spent their classes answering questions about Australia and their lives.
11.30am saw us hit the road headed back to New York (for our third visit) and we pulled up in front of Hunter College High School on the corner of Park Avenue and 94th Street right on 3pm. One of 460 High Schools in New York City, it was surrounded by brick, high rise walls and the gym was in the basement - such a contrast to the two previous schools in country Connecticut. Hunter is known as the strongest academic high school in the US, and we had special guests watching us including the academic superintendent for New York City and the Commissioner of Boys Basketball for New York City.
The Junior Varsity team kicked off the afternoon with an intense game, lots of great shooting, tough play under the hoop and much fast breaking, and the half time score was very close. We pulled away late in the third quarter and ended up winning 56 - 37 - a great result for our first win on US soil. Stand out play from Aidan Ptasznik led the way, Alex Boardman got 6 blocks in the first half, and Samson Page hit his straps as well as a sweet jump shot.
The Varsity game was also a very tough game, but our boys turned up to play today, with some excellent early shooting from Jake Dunsmore, a fantastic defensive effort by Mullie Watson and a strong performance in the second half from Curtis Rudd. Unfortunately we just fell short, losing 62 - 70.
Into the bus again and south we headed at 7.30pm, with a stop for dinner at McDonalds, and now I am sitting here writing the blog. We expect to get in to Washington DC at around 2am - and all are very much looking forward to a special day tomorrow.
A range of photos tonight - from Nathan Hale Ray in the cafeteria and corridors, to the outside of Hunter College High School.